Statistically Speaking: Ovechkin in a league of his own

Ovechkin is a sniper like no other; Couturier, Toews, Karlsson, a ton of injuries, fantasy and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking.

HEROES

Alex Ovechkin – The best goal-scorer of this generation buried a pair in Saturday’s 4-3 OT win at the Rangers then two more in Sunday’s 7-1 win against Ottawa. He has 14 points (12 G, 2 A) in the past 12 games and now has 501 goals for his career. Ovechkin is averaging 5.15 shots per game, his highest per-game rate since 2008-2009.

But he didn’t get become the greatest goal-scorer of this generation by accident; he generates far more shots on goal than anyone. How does he do it? Volume!

SHOTS ON GOAL LEADERS SINCE 2005-2006

PLAYER

POS

GP

SHOTS

S/GP

Alex Ovechkin

LW

801

4041

5.04

Eric Staal

C

808

2814

3.48

Rick Nash

LW

747

2714

3.63

Henrik Zetterberg

C

738

2685

3.64

Marian Hossa

RW

744

2632

3.54

Jarome Iginla

RW

809

2617

3.23

Jeff Carter

C

754

2561

3.40

Zach Parise

LW

724

2504

3.46

Patrick Marleau

LW

810

2456

3.03

Daniel Sedin

LW

788

2424

3.08

Sean Couturier – The Flyers centre put up a goal and an assist in Saturday’s 4-0 win vs. the Islanders; he has 12 points (6 G, 6 A) in the past 10 games. He has the profile of an elite two-way centre, playing quality competition, starting more shifts in the defensive zone and still driving play.

Jonathan Toews – Chicago’s captain scored a goal and added two assists in Sunday’s 6-3 win over Colorado. He has 14 points (7 G, 7 A) in the past 12 games; a nice recovery after starting the season with 17 points in 32 games.

Erik Karlsson – Ottawa’s dynamic defender assisted on both Senators goals in a 2-1 win over Boston Saturday. In the past 21 games, Karlsson has 21 points (4 G, 17 A) and has averaged 30:26 of ice time per game.

ZEROES

Patrick Maroon – The Ducks winger had poor possession (2 for, 14 against, 12.5 SAT%) and was on for all three goals against in Friday’s 4-3 shootout win against St. Louis.

Roman Polak – Toronto’s veteran blueliner had team-worst possession stats (12 for, 31 against, 27.9 SAT%) and was on for three Sharks goals in Saturday’s 7-0 loss at San Jose.

Jonathan Bernier – Allowed seven goals on 31 shots in Toronto’s loss at San Jose Saturday. While Bernier has had some decent starts lately, he’s also allowed at least four goals in seven of his past 14 games.

Andrew Hammond – Gave up seven goals on 36 shots at Washington Sunday. He had a .934 save percentage in his previous seven games.

Semyon Varlamov – Colorado’s goaltender gave up four goals in 20 shots at Chicago Sunday. He has an .878 save percentage in his past eight games.

VITAL SIGNS

James van Riemsdyk – Toronto’s leading scorer suffered a broken foot against San Jose Saturday night. The Leafs have called up Josh Leivo, who has 30 points (11 G, 19 A) in 35 AHL games.

Nick Foligno – Columbus’ captain was knocked out of Friday’s loss to Carolina after taking a hit in the head from Hurricanes winger Brad Malone.

Seth Jones – The newest Blue Jacket played 22:47 and 22:31 in his first two games with Columbus, only the second time this season that he played more than 22 minutes in back-to-back games.

Mattias Ekholm – With Jones gone to Columbus, Ekholm played 23:40 and 24:41 for Nashville on Friday and Saturday, respectively – his two highest ice-time totals of the season. He also recorded two assists in Friday’s 5-3 loss to Colorado, giving him six points (2 G, 4 A) in the past six games.

David Pastrnak – Returned to the Bruins lineup Friday, for the first time since October 31. After recovering from a broken foot, he played for the Czech Republic at the World Junior Hockey Championships. Pastrnak tallied a goal in Saturday’s 2-1 loss at Ottawa.

Brad Marchand – Returned from suspension to play 20:24 for Boston in Saturday’s win over Ottawa.

Jeff Petry – The Habs blueliner was out for Saturday’s loss to Pittsburgh with a lower-body injury. With Petry out, Greg Pateryn was inserted into the lineup for the first time since December 29 and P.K. Subban played more than 30 minutes for the third time this season.

Jake Allen – The Blues goaltender is out with a lower-body injury, which leaves Brian Elliott to start in his place. The Blues have called up prospect Jordan Binnington, who had a .910 save percentage in 17 AHL games.

Jiri Tlusty – The Devils winger was injured in Friday’s loss to Boston and was placed on injured reserve. New Jersey recalled Joseph Blandisi, who had 21 points (7 G, 14 A) in 24 AHL games, to fill Tlusty’s spot in the lineup.

Scott Mayfield – The 2011 second-round pick was inserted into the Islanders lineup for Saturday’s 4-0 loss at Philadelphia, with Travis Hamonic out due to a lower-body injury and Marek Zidlicky a healthy scratch.

Marc-Andre Gragnani – With John Moore and David Schlemko out with lower-body injuries, Gragnani played for the Devils in Friday’s loss to Boston. The 28-year-old last played in the league with Carolina in 2012-2013. He had 15 assists and a minus-7 rating in 24 AHL games.

Paul Carey – The 27-year-old, who played 22 games for Colorado over the past couple of seasons, got into the Washington lineup on the weekend. He had 23 points (12 G, 11 A) in 35 AHL games when he was called up due to suspensions to Zach Sill and Marcus Johansson.

FIRSTS

Philip Danault – Scored his first NHL goal, in his 12th career game, Friday’s 3-1 win against Buffalo. Chicago’s 2011 first-round pick has four points (1 G, 3 A) in the past seven games, providing a little bit of depth scoring for the Blackhawks.

Josh Anderson – A fourth-round pick of the Blue Jackets in 2012, the 21-year-old winger netted his first career goal, in his 11th career game, Saturday’s 4-3 OT loss to Carolina.

Mike Reilly – A sought-after free agent signing out of the University of Minnesota, Reilly made his NHL debut for the Wild in Saturday’s 2-1 win at Dallas. He had 18 points – and was minus-26! – in 32 AHL games when he was recalled from Iowa.

Tom Kuhnhackl – Drafted in the fourth round by Pittsburgh in 2010, the 23-year-old forward made his NHL debut at Montreal Saturday. He had 15 points in 23 AHL games.

SHORT SHIFTS

Blackhawks D Duncan Keith had a couple of assists in Friday’s 3-1 win over Buffalo; he has eight points (2 G, 6 A) in the past six games…Hurricanes C Jordan Staal had a goal and an assist in back-to-back games against Columbus, giving him three straight games with one and one…Bruins C Ryan Spooner had a goal and an assist in Friday’s 4-1 win at New Jersey. He has six points (1 G, 5 A) in the past five games…Avalanche C Carl Soderberg had a pair of assists in Friday’s 5-3 win vs. Nashville, and has six points (2 G, 4 A) in the past six games…Lightning D Victor Hedman had a goal and two assists in Friday’s 3-2 win at Edmonton, his only points in the past eight games…Ducks C Ryan Kesler scored two goals in Friday’s 4-3 shootout wins against St. Louis; he has four goals in the past four games, after scoring four goals in the first 36 games…The Bruins line of Loui Eriksson, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak dominated play (13 for, 2 against, 86.7 SAT%) in Friday’s 4-1 win at New Jersey.

Capitals D Nate Schmidt had a couple of assists against the Rangers Saturday, and has four points (1 G, 3 A) in the past three games; he’s also played more than 20 minutes in seven of the past eight games…Sharks D Justin Braun put up three assists, and was on the ice for five even-strength goals, in Saturday’s 7-0 win over Toronto. He has 10 points (1 G, 9 A) in the past dozen games…Sharks D Brent Burns had a goal and an assist vs. Toronto, and has 14 points (7 G, 7 A) in the past nine games…Sharks C Tomas Hertl tallied two goals and an assist against Toronto, giving him five points (3 G, 2 A) in the past five games…Sharks C Joe Thornton had a pair of assists against Toronto; he has 13 points (3 G, 10 A) in the past 10 games…Coyotes LW Tobias Rieder put up two goals and an assist in Saturday’s 4-0 win over Nashville; he has 11 points (4 G, 7 A) in the past 11 games…Coyotes C Antoine Vermette picked up a goal and an assist, and has seven points (2 G, 5 A) in the past eight games…Lightning RW Nikita Kucherov scored the OT winner and added an assist in Saturday’s 3-2 win at Vancouver. He has 20 points (10 G, 10 A) in the past 16 games…Lightning D Anton Stralman contributed a pair of assists at Vancouver, and has 10 points (2 G, 8 A) in the past 11 games…Canucks C Bo Horvat had a goal and an assist against Tampa Bay, and has five points (4 G, 1 A) in the past three games, after putting up 10 points in his first 39 games this season.

Blackhawks G Corey Crawford turned aside 28 of 29 shots in Friday’s 3-1 win against Buffalo; he has a .947 save percentage in his past 14 games…Hurricanes G Cam Ward stopped 56 of 60 shots in two wins over Columbus, and has a .937 save percentage in the past eight games…Sabres G Chad Johnson had 42 saves on 44 shots in a 3-1 loss to Chicago Friday, and has a .935 save percentage in the past seven games…Penguins G Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 33 of 34 shots in Saturday’s 3-1 win at Montreal, giving him a .932 save percentage in his past eight games…Sharks G Martin Jones had a 28-save shutout in Saturday’s 7-0 win against Toronto. He had an .878 save percentage in his previous seven games…Wild G Devan Dubnyk turned aside 34 of 35 shots in Saturday’s 2-1 win at Dallas, giving him a .942 save percentage in the past seven games…Coyotes G Louis Domingue had a 26-save shutout against Nashville Saturday; his save percentage is up to .936 in 10 games…Blues G Brian Elliott had 26 saves on 27 shots in Saturday’s 2-1 shootout win at Los Angeles; he has a .935 save percentage in his past 11 games…Sabres rookie G Linus Ullmark stopped 42 of 44 shots in Sunday’s 4-2 victory at Winnipeg, giving him a .918 save percentage in 18 games. He’s also likely headed for the AHL as Robin Lehner is nearing a return to the Sabres lineup…Red Wings G Petr Mrazek stopped 30 of 31 shots in Sunday’s 2-1 win at Anaheim; he has a .938 save percentage in his past dozen games…Panthers G Al Montoya had 24 saves on 25 shots in Sunday’s 2-1 win at Edmonton, and is up to a .940 save percentage in 10 starts this season.

FANTASY FOCUS

Some players owned in more than 90% of TSN leagues that have been struggling lately:

Tyler Johnson – The Tampa Bay centre has one assist in six games since returning from injury, and had no points in his three previous games, so that’s one point in his past nine games. Owned: 95.0%

Gustav Nyquist – With no goals and two assists in the past nine games, Nyquist has managed only 15 shots on goal in that span. Owned: 94.2%

Max Domi – The Coyotes rookie got off to a great start, but has no goals and five assists in his past 15 games. Owned: 95.9%